Change and Continuity in Agrarian Relations (Foreword by James Manor)

Transformation of Indian Agrarian Social Structure has been more of a state initiated process than being spontaneous. Agrarian history of Indian is replete with efforts to transform the social relationships in agriculture, which have either always fallen short of their goals or have had effects other than those desired. In studying agrarian social change, sociologists have either tended to project changes or the absence of them. This work takes a third, but distinct perspective, namely, “change and continuity” as a process. The context is land reforms, introduction of cash crops and several welfare measure in a Karnataka village over a period of 60-70 years. The book demonstrates how features of “traditional” agrarian social structure persist despite several changes in policies and agriculture technology.